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Al Franken announces resignation, blasts Trump and Roy Moore

Photo: Alex Brandon / AP

Minnesota Sen. Al Franken announced his decision to resign "in the coming weeks" during a speech on the Senate floor. More than 30 of his Democratic Senate colleagues called for him step down yesterday after a seventh allegation of sexual misconduct against Franken (which was followed shortly by an eighth). Franken referenced both President Trump and Roy Moore during his announcement, saying: "There is some irony that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party."

What's next: Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton will choose Franken's immediate replacement. He said he'll make that decision "in the next couple of days," but his pick is rumored to be Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. A special election for the remainder of his term will be held in November 2018, opening the seat for the midterm elections during what Democrats hope to be an electoral wave in their favor.

Video of the Trump-Moore moment:

More from Franken's speech:

"Some of the allegations against me are not true. Others I remember very differently."

"I am proud that during my time in the Senate I have used my power to be a champion of women…I know there's been a very different picture of me painted over the last few weeks, but I know who I really am."

"I know in my heart that nothing I have done as a senator — nothing — has brought dishonor on this institution, and I am confident that the Ethics Committee would agree."

"I have faith — or at least hope — that members of this Senate will find the political courage necessary to keep asking the tough questions, hold this administration accountable, and stand up for the truth."

"Even on the worst day of my political life, I feel that it has all been worth it...I would do it all over again in a heartbeat."

Self-driving lab head urges freeze after "nightmare" fatality

Uber self-driving car in Pittsburgh. Photo: Jeff Swensen / Getty

Carmakers and technology companies should freeze their race to field autonomous vehicles because "clearly the technology is not where it needs to be," said Raj Rajkumar, head of Carnegie Mellon University's leading self-driving laboratory.

What he said: Speaking a few hours after a self-driven vehicle ran over and killed a pedestrian in Arizona, Rajkumar said, "This isn't like a bug with your phone. People can get killed. Companies need to take a deep breath. The technology is not there yet. We need to keep people in the loop."

Why it matters: Virtually every major car company on theplanet, in addition to numerous startups and tech companies, are doing live testing of self-driving vehicles — and pushing policy officials to allow them to do so.

But Rajkumar said that ordinary people in addition to automakers and tech companies have developed far too much trust in self-driving technology simply because the cars have driven hundreds of thousands of miles with only one fatality before this — a Tesla driver who slammed into the side of a truck last year.

Quote "This is the nightmare all of us working in this domain always worried about."